BELL, Trevor

Trevor Bell was born in Leeds in 1930, and he attended The Leeds College of Art from 1947-1952, and, encouraged by Terry Frost, moved to Cornwall in 1955. Waddington Galleries in London gave Bell his first solo exhibition in 1958.

Throughout the 60’s, Trevor Bell showed work in major exhibitions in the UK and the USA, and it was during this time his work was first purchased for the Tate collection.

In 1976 he moved to Florida State University to become the Professor for Master Painting, and, with the provision of a warehouse sized studio, and time to develop his painting, he produced the large scale, intensely coloured works for which he is best known. He went on to spend the next 20yrs in America.

In 1985 Bell was included in the London Tate Gallery’s St Ives 1939-64 exhibition, and in 1993 he was part of the inaugural show of the Tate St Ives. Moving from Florida in 1996 he established his studios near Penzance, Cornwall, and continued to exhibit in London, the USA, and St Ives.

Bell had a major solo exhibition at the Tate St Ives in 2004, and in 2011, a further 14 works were obtained by the Tate Gallery for their permanent collection.